Dear Fellow Cardiologists, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Due to the current global COVID-19 pandemic, after careful consideration, the Organizing Committee has decided that the Great Wall International Conference of Cardiology 2021 (GW-ICC 2021) and the Asian Heart Society Conference 2021 (AHS 2021) will be conducted in a hybrid format, occurring both in-person and virtually on October 27-31, 2021 in Beijing. We sincerely look forward to your participation!

After thirty-two unforgettable years, the Great Wall International Conference of Cardiology has stayed true to its original aspiration of focusing on delivering its core value of "quality and service" and adhering to its purpose of "introduction, innovation, cooperation, and development." Unswerving in its advocacy for public welfare, education on prevention, standardization of guidelines and clinical practice, as well as fostering innovation, GW-ICC continues to advocate for improving returning to humanities, returning to clinical practice, strengthening healthcare practitioners’ basic skills and strengthening the quality of primary-level practice.

After these 32 years, the GW-ICC has become very active internationally, through its cooperation with leading societies and peer-review journals throughout the world. While GW-ICC has always valued the advancement of cardiology, it has also vigorously supported advancing interdisciplinary approaches to treating patients and delivering care. Over the years, we have sought to emphasize cardiovascular disease treatment, prevention, and rehabilitation, thus developing an international-quality academic conference with Chinese characteristics. Our theme of "healthy ideals, ideal health" is in line with our nation’s “healthy China” strategy. Together the strong support of colleagues at home and abroad, the Great Wall International Conference of Cardiology has become an internationally recognized academic platform for sharing achievements, exchanging experience and meeting friends. Furthermore, the Congress is one of the most influential comprehensive cardiovascular events in the Asian-Pacific region.

The development of the Great Wall Cardiology Conference is a magnificent history of struggle passed down from generation to generation. Thirty-two years ago, Professor Hu Dayi pioneered and led the Great Wall Club in 1990 as a simple technical training course entitled, “International Great Wall Training Course -- Sino-US Radiofrequency Ablation Seminar.” In our first year, we had less than 100 participants. From these humble beginnings, GW-ICC has grown from strength to strength.  Since the 26th Great Wall Conference in 2015, the leadership structure has followed international standards, with the annual rotation system of the chairman of the conference, and the introduction of the forum chairman responsibility system.  GW-ICC past presidents—Changshen Ma, Yaling Han, Jian Zhang, Yihan Chen, Hongliang Cong—have forged ahead and written a new Great Wall chapter of openness, cooperation and development.For the past thirty-two years, innovation has been our tradition. At this year’s conference, we will, as always, invite well-known overseas experts and scholars, and we will bring together hospitals and medical service institutions in various provinces and cities to support increased participation by as many cardiovascular and related medical colleagues as possible. The conference aims to open up emerging academic areas and to broadly communicate those trends and discoveries which are at the forefront of our field.  It will bring multi-dimensional, concrete, and brand-new perspectives and concepts to colleagues in the cardiovascular field while also building opportunities for learning and for exchanging the information about the latest scientific advancements. We aim to support China’s long-term development in cardiovascular medicine.

Now that the 13th Five-Year Plan has come to a successful conclusion, the 14th Five-Year Plan is being comprehensively formulated.  In the face of the COVID-19 epidemic, we must always put our people and their lives front and center. The Chinese nation has demonstrated that our unity and perseverance can achieve unprecedented success. Greatness is forged from the ordinary, and heroes come from ordinary people. Every person is remarkable! As part of our efforts to control the COVID-19 epidemic, the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease became a critical part of the overall effort. In order to achieve "Healthy China 2030" early, we need to strengthen exchange and cooperation and to promote the development of the cardiovascular health in order to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

Finally, on behalf of the organizing committee, I would like to invite all cardiovascular fellows to participate in this meeting. I would also express my sincere gratitude to all colleagues, domestic and foreign academic institutions, societies and enterprises for their strong support. I also wish to extend my respect to those colleagues who are still fighting at the front lines of the epidemic.

Adhering to the idea of “steady development, refinement and innovation”, we wish to build a "Great Wall" to defend cardiovascular health under joint efforts. Lastly, we look forward to the gathering of cardiovascular colleagues at home and abroad, online and offline, on October 27-31 in Beijing!

Yuan Zuyi 

President of GWICC 2021